Print the Legend
by DarkSoleil
Summary: Everyone loves a good story, especially one told from the heart; She traced the first sentence of the chapter with her index finger, and with a soft breath, began to read.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Notes: This is the first story I've written in months, and the first time that I've actually sat at my desk and had an original idea come to my head. I swear, stress really drains me out creatively. I hate exams. Hope you enjoy.

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Print the Legend,

Prologue.

She waited until everyone had settled themselves comfortably on the plush carpet before beginning their now customary story-telling tradition. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat for dramatic effect, and then smiled gingerly at her audience of young men and women.

Grabbing the tightly bound book on the mahogany table beside her, she opened it's thick contents to the page they had paused at previously. She traced the first sentence of the chapter with her index finger, and with a soft breath, began to read:

"It did not take long for the Prince of the land to begin regretting his choice. He had never been a very intelligent man when it came to decision-making, especially in the matters of his own life." She paused, index finger resting on the last word, as she glanced up at the children, smiling when she saw them paying full attention. She continued, "Would it have ever occurred to him to choose power over love if he had known the repercussions? And because he was aware he'd never have an answer to the one question that would haunt him for the remained of his life, he sought out any person who may have had an antidote for his lonely suffering."

"Years and years he unsuccessfully searched for healers willing to rid him of his pain, but he was fruitless. It was not until he met a lonely woman walking along his palace grounds, obviously lost, that his life truly began to change."

She paused reading when she saw a small hand rise, and smiled at the young woman, motioning for her to speak.

"Is this going to be like Beauty and the Beast? Is he going to banish her because she's an old witch?" When the woman shook her head at the girl, she smiled back, glad that the man would not have to suffer in the same way that the Beast had.

"Any more questions?" When the class shook their heads at her, she continued reading:

"He approached her then, eager to find someone else on his grounds, as he had been avoided as of late by even his closest friends. All who he had been acquainted with disliked how cold his heart had turned, and so they left him alone to think of his actions, hoping that his heart would once again fill with love.

He was surprised when the woman who had stumbled upon his land smiled at him, even though his palace walls were coated with sadness and a terrible history of violence. She asked him who he was, and how he had managed to find a way inside the intricate palace. He stared at her, surprised that she would ask him about his own home, one he had resided in since he was a young child.

He questioned her about her motives, and how _she_, not him, had managed to trespass, threatening to remove her from his grounds if she did not answer honestly. She simply smiled at him once again, and began to walk away from the shocked Prince. When he saw her turn towards the only exit his lands had he began to run after her, shouting at her so that she would stop. He had no other wish but to have some company, and so he was saddened to find that when he reached the exit himself there was nothing there, save for a few dying flower beds by the road."

She turned the page, glancing at her students, satisfied when their attention had not faltered from her reading. She made a show of rearranging her ponytail, and secretly enjoyed the way the class fidgeted in their seats, hoping for her to continue the story. She smiled, and started at the top of the page:

"Alone once again, he began to think of his lost love endlessly. He thought of her silky skin and how he would stroke her scalp at times, as it seemed to be the only way to calm her nerves. He cherished the simple fact that he was the only one that seemed to calm her _at all_, even when all others had tried endlessly. It was not until he remembered the night on the bridge, and how he had turned her away when she had so innocently tried to calm _him_ that he began to weep, once again regretting the one mistake that would haunt him forever."

Sakura looked up from her book, closing it softly. For a moment, the classroom seemed to be still, silent except for the rain outside.

Finally, a brunette with hazel eyes spoke up, "Does he find love again?" Several others around the room nodded in agreement to her question, all of them looking at Sakura for an answer.

She simply smiled and shrugged at them, "You'll have to make sure you make it to class next week. You're dismissed." She observed her students as they began to collect their things, and appreciated the silence that always came after the last student filed out of the lecture hall.

She waited patiently at her desk until the next group of students began filling up her classroom, waiting just as eagerly for her to begin as the previous class had done.

Once again, she picked up the thickly-bound book and turned to the page assigned for the day, placing her index finger at the beginning of the page. Allowing time for suspense to build up, she arranged herself comfortable in her seat and began to read:

"It did not take long for the Prince of the land to begin regretting his choice…"

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_This is a little different than what I usually write, but I like it. I don't know if I'll continue to pursue it but for now I really like what I've planned so far. Thanks for reading._

_Until Next Time,_

_D._


	2. Living In The Past

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Notes: I'm testing out a new style of writing. Here's hoping it sticks. Enjoy.

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Print the Legend,

Chapter 1: Living in the Past.

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Her fingers rubbed the corners of the page softly, enjoying how the paper felt against her skin. It helped soothe her, when she felt anxious before a class. Many students had come up to her, asking her questions about the previous reading session and she merely smiled at them as to leave them guessing. If there was one thing that Sakura aimed for, was to be a great storyteller. It was the one thing she would always make her goal. At the end of every semester, her students felt saddened at having to end the class, and she'd had occasions where some had come back for a second time, hoping that maybe hearing it once again would make them understand it better. She'd always read the same story. It always brought out the same reaction.

The door to the lecture hall opened, and the students began walking inside, some waving as they took their places. If one were to examine her students, they'd quickly assume that they were terrified of Professor Haruno. She'd like to think it was simply respect and human curiosity, not fear.

"Welcome back, everyone. I suspect you're all anxious to begin reading." She smiled brightly at them, showing a slight amount of teeth at them, and some students laughed at how obviously she was enjoying their reactions. "Well, who am I to keep you in suspense."

Walking to her desk and picking up the book that held most of her heart, she opted to read behind her podium, standing behind it and opening to the page where she had last marked it. She gingerly traced the ink on the paper and closed her eyes for a moment, before she took a deep breath and began to read:

"He first met her on the same bridge where he last saw her, which seemed to be a bittersweet coincidence at times. It wasn't until it was too late that he truly began to realize these things, that he had written his end the moment he had reached his beginning."

As if by habit, she paused and looked up to glance at her students. As she had expected, they were completely transfixed by the story. Smiling to her self, she resumed:

"They were made comrades, something that was out of his control, and so in the beginning he pushed her away, knowing that she was nothing but a weakness he could not afford. Later, his heart would tell him otherwise, but it is the road that you take in the past that affect what you feel in the future.

One night, injured and in pain, she found him by the river, the water reaching his torso. She felt attracted to him, but he would have never known that, for she was as emotionless as he always seemed to be around her. He did not know why it bothered him so, that she would go as far as mimic him."

She paused to look up when a hand rose in the air, and she nodded at the girl to speak. "How could he have expected anything else? If he was always pushing her away."

She felt a tug of emotion, but she pushed it back. "Maybe he hadn't realized he was really pushing her away. The book says so, but who really knows what goes on in the human heart sometimes?"

The girl nodded, but the young man across the room raised his hand in retaliation. "I think he was just trying to protect himself from getting hurt." A slim blond scoffed at him, "From what? He just seems like a jerk to me!"

The class began to whisper to themselves, and Sakura cleared her throat to speak. "I think we should read on, and see if there might be an explanation to his feelings in let's see…a paragraph from now?"

There was a collective laugh around the class, and she looked down at her book after giving them a sly smile. "Now…where were we…Okay," she cleared her throat once again, and resumed, "It hurt him so, to see her act emotionless around him, and so after she tended to his wounds, he made it a mission to try and be kinder to her. Night after night he sought her out, and she denied him, both romantically and as friends, obviously trying to keep herself from getting hurt."

"He wanted so badly to tell her of his suffering, of how much loss he had witness in his short lifetime, but his mouth would not move when he was given the chance, and so he gave up, just as quickly as he had begun."

She grinned at her students, "Seeing a pattern here?"

"But the girl was not a silly girl, not at all, and so she decided to forgive him of his previous actions and gave him a chance to start over. The Prince of the land was overjoyed, although he did not show it the way most people did. He showed the girl what love he knew, and she taught him what love truly meant. It was not until then that he finally realized she had never been a weakness to him, but instead a strength."

Sakura stopped reading, and closed the book softly, arranging her things neatly. "Any questions?"

When she received no reply, she tried not to smile.

"Class dismissed."

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_I know, what a miracle it is that I've actually updated on time. I'm planning on making this a pretty short story. Maybe about 5 or 6 chapters, who knows. Thanks for reading._

_Until Next Time,_

_D._


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